Bruney shaping up as bullpen asset

Sox reliever lost weight during offseason and may have found job

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Brian Bruney knows there's the assumption he's old, essentially because he has pitched in the major leagues since 2004.

But to enhance his chances of returning to the majors, Bruney had to turn a page back to his youth.

Bruney did so this offseason when he lost at least 20 pounds from his 6-foot-3 frame, and it hasn't hurt his chances of earning one of the final bullpen spots on the White Sox's opening-day roster as a nonroster invitee.

"Give him a lot of credit," pitching coach Don Cooper said Thursday, one day after Bruney pitched two scoreless innings against the Mariners. "He got himself in very good shape, and he's throwing the ball better and better. He has put himself in the mix, big-time. We have 11 days left, and the competition is ongoing. But he put himself into it."

Cooper indicated Bruney, who has been used often throughout his career as a late-inning, one-inning reliever, could be stretched out again — perhaps as soon as Saturday, when the Sox face the Brewers at Maryvale Park.

"We need that guy," Cooper said. "He has that flexibility to go two or three (innings). Wednesday, the good news was he could have gone another inning, and we may try to give him a three-inning outing. But we'll see how it goes. I'm not 100 percent sure about that, but two or three innings is kind of what we're hoping for from that spot."

Bruney threw a career-high 21/3 shutout innings against the Nationals — one of his three former teams — on June 25. His ERA was as low as 2.16 on July 26 until he allowed 11 earned runs in his next four outings and the Sox designated him for assignment Aug. 6. He didn't pitch the rest of the year.

That was part of a wake-up call for Bruney.

"I knew I had some work to do and get in shape," said Bruney, who confessed that he feels like he still eats ice cream four or five times a week. "I'm only 30 years old. I know it feels like I've been around a long time. I got drafted out of high school. There are a lot of guys who mature and blossom as pitchers later in their careers.

"I'm definitely stronger. I know that, for sure so (possibly being finished) never crossed my mind."

Yet Bruney didn't take any shortcuts over the winter.

"I worked out six days a week," Bruney said. "I took Sundays off so I could go to church and spend that day with my family. But it was six days a week on the stair-climber, working hard, eating well, and it was total dedication."